Hundreds of thousands of Chinese New Year apparel are currently stuck at the retail outlets or production lines or warehouses as the government has banned textile factories and apparel retail outlets from operating during the movement control order (MCO 2.0).

The Federation of Malaysian Fashion, Textiles and Apparels (FMFTA) has appealed to the government to allow the industry to operate during the MCO 2.0 so that retail outlets have ample time to clear their festive stock, while textile manufacturers could resume their productions to meet contract requirements.

"The festive merchandise will need to hit the retail outlets one month before the Chinese New Year for the outlets to sell them. Currently...